Roller-coaster ride for di Grassi
Anything that could have gone wrong for ABT’s Lucas di Grassi in Mexico City seemed to go wrong in Mexico City, yet somehow the Brazilian managed to win a manic Mexico City ePrix as he went from last to first to close the gap to defending champion Sebastien Buemi.
“What an incredible change of fate, but actually that’s what Formula E represents, there are such ups and downs,” said di Grassi summing up a remarkable ePrix.
Starting the race all the way down in fifteenth after a poor outing in qualifying, the Brazilian was caught in the pushing and shoving of the pack in the early stages, before getting rear-ended by Maro Engel’s Venturi. The contact cost Engel his front wing, which subsequently damaged di Grassi’s rear wing, forcing the Brazilian to pit. Luckily for di Grassi that early pit stop was negated by an early safety car.
Seven laps prior to the rest swapping cars – under another safety car – ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport and di Grassi went all-in on a risky strategy that would leave him with a monumental amount of energy saving to be competitive towards the end of the race.
A third safety car did nothing to help di Grassi’s cause as it reduced a 30-second lead he had at the time, but Jerome D’Ambrosio unintentionally gave di Grassi a helping hand. The Faraday Future Dragon Racing team went for a similar strategy to ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport as the Belgian driver held up the chasing pack as they struggled to pass him for second place, meaning di Grassi could maintain a reasonable gap as the closing stages approached.
“Somebody crashed into my back, broke the rear wing and there was a safety car,” said di Grassi. “I managed to open a gap, keep on just using regen, just trying to be as energy efficient as possible, just focusing on my race as much as possible until the last corner and then just celebrated like crazy. For me it was one of the best races of my life, in terms of how I drove, how energy efficient I had to be, so I’m very pleased.”
That victory for di Grassi and Buemi only picking up the solitary point on offer for fastest lap reduces Buemi’s championship lead to just five points heading to Monaco.